As wireless communication systems continue to grow in popularity, functionality, and connectivity to the Internet, the level of unwanted traffic on wireless communication systems has also continued to grow. Beyond the frustration and annoyance experienced by a user who receives unwanted traffic, such unwanted traffic can negatively impact a user's ability to use a wireless communication system. For example, unwanted traffic can congest the wireless communication system, cause an undesirable drain on the batteries of wireless communication devices, and even cause software crashes on wireless communication devices.
In addition to negatively impacting system performance, such unwanted traffic can pose more serious risks to users of a wireless communication system if the unwanted traffic contains malicious software code, including programs designed to harvest sensitive user data and damage other software applications stored on a wireless communication device. In wired networks, traditional techniques such as firewalls and anti-virus software have been used to provide a limited degree of protection to devices connected to the wired network. However, these wired-network techniques are not well suited to addressing the ways in which unwanted traffic negatively impacts a wireless communication system.